May's Happiness Habit, plus what I'm trying in June
In 2019, I'm trying one new habit per month that A) promise to increase my happiness levels and B) costs little to nothing.
In May, my goal was to read a chapter a day, and I think I exceeded that.
I finished seven books in May, actually!
Four of them (Vinegar Girl, Dept. of Speculation, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, and The House on Mango Street) were pretty short, though, so this sounds more impressive than it is.
I added links and short reviews of all the books on my 2019 Reads page.
But here I'll just say that my two favorites from this month were non-fiction, which is not surprising for me!
I loved Maid, a memoir about a young single mom trying to survive.
And I also really, really liked Atomic Habits, which was kind of like a much more practical, applicable version of The Power of Habit.
June Happiness Challenge
I am very good at buckling down and getting work done.
And I'm great at being responsible and diligent.
But sometimes (ok, a lot of times), I'm not that good at doing fun, not-productive things.
So in June, I'm going to try doing something fun every day.
And at the beginning of July, I'll let you know how that went for me.
(Just to prove the truth of what I just said: this challenge feels a little more daunting to me than, say, a challenge to do a home improvement task every day!)
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In case you missed my earlier posts in this series:
In January, I used my phone less.
Definitely will keep doing this.
In February, I tried a gratitude journal.
This was not a keeper of a habit for me. One month was enough!
In March, I did a photo-a-day challenge.
Keeper habit!
In April, I went outside every day.
This is a keeper, except that summer is coming and I hate sweating so I will probably mostly be outside if I am swimming. 😉
Good luck!
I have NOOOOO problem doing things I find fun but are not productive every day. Probably related to that, I need to get me a copy of that book on breaking habits/creating good habits (and did find The Power of Habit to be a disappointing read) because man... I am addicted to bad habits right now.
I felt the same way about The Power of Habit. It was so highly recommended but I felt very blah about it (and I'm someone who loves productivity books!) Definitely give Atomic Habits a try; I'd love to hear what you think.
huh, turns out I did a book review on why I wasn't crazy about the power of habit (!)
https://nicoleandmaggie.wordpress.com/2015/03/03/the-power-of-habit-book-review/
Yep, I thought I remembered that!
! We are honored. 🙂
I'm intrigued. How will you decide/define what is fun? New fun or old fun? A different fun each day, with no repeats? For example, if playing your favorite hymn is fun, does that count? Would it count if you just sat down and played the same hymn every day? Would that become a chore and lose the fun factor? Oh my, this having fun challenge could be hard work (lol).
I'm not entirely sure what I will end up doing, because like you said, defining fun is a little tricky! I do think it needs to be something *I* think is fun, not something that other people generally consider to be fun. And it needs to be something not super destructive (a food treat is fun, but I don't think eating a brownie ice cream sundae each day is an overall life improvement.)
I'm trying not to overthink it, but we'll see how successful I am at that. Heh.
It's a good question. For me, I've decided it means "something fun that I don't usually do." So reading doesn't count but watching TV does.
Yep, I agree. I already read, so it's gotta be something else!
My struggle would be that I would want to eat something fun everyday, aka a blizzard, candy bar, smoothie. So, I would have to specify something fun, that doesn’t include eating.
I've been following along with an eye to finding new ideas for myself. Going outside every day has resonated the most with me for two reasons. The first is that I'm outside, which is held to be a good thing. The second was a surprise to me: making a point to go outside means making time that's just for me.
For something fun everyday, I guess it should be something I don't do already? So reading is out. Given that, I think my goal will be something fun every weekend.
Off to reserve those two books from the library. [Later] Holy Cripes! Atomic Habits is over-reserved by a factor of four. Guess it'll be a while before I read that one.
I had to wait a LONG time for it to come in at my library! I think there were about 60 people on the list before me.
I loved Atomic Habits. I really liked the idea of starting with something small and improving through consistency. I think it will definitely be a book I will return to over and over again. I will have to check out Maid. Happy reading!
Many decades ago, I was assigned an article to read about listening. The author claimed that Americans are considered poor listeners compared to people in other countries. He speculated it is because Americans think in terms of having a tangible or measurable product when they are finished with an activity. Listening leads to intangible results-- an improved relationship with a friend or a sense of well-being or increased knowledge for the sake of knowledge. It isn't "productive" in the same way as having built a bridge or made a meal for ten or jogged a measured three miles or for an hour .
So take your watch off and give yourself permission to be un-American and just enjoy without being productive or measuring results!! Children can do this naturally, until they are taught otherwise.
This is interesting. I think that Americans get stuck in the puritan work ethic guilt-trip thing -- if we're not "doing" all the time, we think we're not productive or valuable. And, let's just say that some of us have given ourselves the "responsible daughter" label in our families of origin (ahem!), so as we move through adulthood, we have a hard time letting go of always doing the right thing. So, I'm off to do something fun!
This would be a tough challenge for me as well. My first challenge would be that I find doing productive projects to be fun. I can't really think of anything unproductive to do. Is baking considered productive? I like to bake and find it fun.
I'm not free to indulge myself everyday considering my husband's health right now, but maybe I can set a goal of so many days per week.
The weather is going to limit some of my options -- it's reached 100 a couple of times and high or mid-nineties the rest of the days for over a week, and we don't have a pool. Walking isn't very fun in that heat.
Give us some of your ideas, Kristen, so I can "borrow" them (aka steal them).
I was thinking along those same lines. I think you need to make it be okay to do something productive that you find fun. For example, I have plenty of recipes that I don't NEED to make but which I have wanted to make for years. That would be fun for me. I love taking time out of the day to sit down and crochet; I don't need to, but I want to--but it is productive.
For you, photography seems to be fun, BUT because of your blog, it might also be productive. So, should a walk around your neighborhood with your camera be ruled out as not fun because it's also productive?
Woohoo, congrats on a great month! I have ZERO issues reading every day. I've read, uh, 25 books in May (and I'll probably finish another one today). I've read three of the books you read this month. I'd like to read Maid at some point. Yay for books!
Doing something fun every day sounds like an interesting challenge- reading is fun for me, so I've got that in the bag, but I'd be hard-pressed to figure out what to do *other* than reading. I have fun when I go for walks, but we've had the rainiest May in our history, so that hasn't exactly been a thing. I'm going to have to put some thought into this (which is probably kind of sad!).
Have a great June! 🙂
I admire that you have been reading, you set a goal and achieved this goal. I love to read, but when I borrow a book from the library (I can't afford to just go buy a book so I use the library)anyway I end up only getting half way thru the book. I hate that! I need some help getting things done, I have never been good at that. Then I get depressed over what I didn't get done. Junk on the counter in the kitchen, junk on the kitchen table. My bathroom is always junky. You have given me motivation and I need to make a change.
Most things I consider fun are also somewhat productive. Gardening for example, or crocheting, or walking outside. Reading isn't exactly productive, but it's educational, so does that count? Hmm.
Maybe fun means something that could get you into a "flow" state, where you just get wrapped up in whatever it is and time doesn't matter.
I enjoy cleaning out storage cupboards and rearranging things like my wrapping paper supplies and greeting cards. So I would call those "fun". Crocheting or gardening or walking could be the same.
I love Maid! Reading it now. Thanks for the encouragement to do fun things.
I can totally relate to this. Although, I find getting things done “fun” sooo.....
I need to do this as well, which I realize makes me sound like I'm not much fun otherwise! I'm going to try to do something each day that I enjoy that I don't do very often. So reading won't count but drawing will.
Ha, well, we are in the same boat, girl. 😉
I did this in January! I just looked up my list on my phone. Here is a few things: not stepping on any cracks while shopping, I squished play dough while watching TV, painted my toes in mermaid color( not my style, at all), took the longer scenic drive home, slept a little later, watched a sunrise, went by the Pet store to look at the fish and kittens, got double sour cream on my taco salad, visited with a friend, gave my pastor a small surprise gift, I skipped putting the cart in the buggy barn(sorry!!), surprised my kids by saying yes to most of their requests for a whole day, hoopla hooped, drew on the side walk with chalk with my kids, wore my hair in braids( some people do this all the time but I don't), went on a nature walk, browsed at a store I had never been in but had always admired( bought nothing), hand wrote a few cards and sent to elderly relatives. That's most of my list. It seems kinda bland now when I look back. Maybe I will do this again in June, too. What I found was that I had the most fun surprising others.
Oh Jennifer I love those suggestions - I would definitely call those fun - I did get confused with the cart for a moment tho - there was a time in history that if u put a cart in a buggy barn people would not be impressed:) - is that the same as a shopping trolley at the supermarket? In some stores here you have to put a $1 or $2 coin in the trolley to unhitch it from the trolley line & to get your money back you have to re-hitch it after use - I heard a joke once that people who drive land rovers leave their trolleys wherever cos they consider that too small change to bother with
Oh, I didn't consider this. Let me at explain. Most stores/supermarkets do not Have those trolleys/carts that you pay to use. I usually religiously put all carts back in the proper "barn" to keep them from rolling all over the parking lot and out of respect for the workers that have to put them up, even if I am in a time crunch. But..... that one day, I just didn't!
The only stores in my area that doesn't have free cart use is Aldi and we only have one of those.
I definitely think reading is fun, without a doubt. It is literally my favorite time of the day when I get to get in bed with a good book so I don't understand all of the people that say they do that anyway so they need to pick something else. What is wrong with reading being fun. It is! It is total escapism even if it is a self help book. So Frugal Girl I think you already do something fun everyday.
Sincerely,
Marinell
Well, I think for me, the point is that I already am doing a pretty good job of making time for reading. But I want to add MORE fun into my life. 😉 So I gotta think of some other things (while still keeping my fun reading going.)
Does spontaneity enter into this? Might that be a criteria for defining fun?
I am generally Very Bad at being spontaneous, due to my propensity to plan.
But I'm hoping that some inspiration will strike me here and there, and I hope I will remember to say yes to that spur of the moment inspiration.
Love your Happiness project! After a painful breakup last year I made it a priority to give myself something to look forward to every day. It could be something simple like spending my lunch break at the park or starting a new book. It was an effort at first and now I just do it out of habit. Have fun with it!
I'm working on my summer bucket list and put a few just "fun" things on it. Are you posting a summer bucket list this year ?? I always find inspiration in yours 🙂
Yep, I definitely am going to. We're at the tail end of school now, so I need to get a list going!
This is a good challenge for me as I've had a lot on my plate for a long time but now things are easing a little I want to get a fun habit going - so tomorrow I'm going to the movies with a friend & I've started arranging meeting up with different friends for a cuppa once a week like I used to - I also keep thinking of some paper crafts I've wanted to do for ages so I'm gonna start that this weekend
Woohoo! I hope your month is full of fun.
Thanks Kristen - you too 🙂
Just checked out "Maid" and "Atomic Habits" from the library. Looking forward to reading these, I also checked out "Blue Zone's Solution". It's about area that have the longest living people. They eat healthy and do healthy things. I am out to read this book and discover some heathy foods for my husband and I